Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Are We Idiocracy Yet?

idiocracy.wtf

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

561–570 of 582 posts

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#561

Post by anonymars »

marxisttemp wrote: post #558
anonymars wrote: post #532

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Laughter? Is Dennis the Menace a treatise on corporeal punishment? If we want to treat Idiocracy as a policy paper, why not take away as a lesson to think beyond merely themselves when the well-educated decide whether to raise children?

The film wasn't about education, it was about genetics, as the intro makes abundantly clear. And the Redditors who get themselves hot and bothered about this film aren't laughing, they're congratulating themselves on being the intelligent ones instead of the dysgenic stupids while crowing about how "Idiocracy is a documentary" -> stupid people are overbreeding.

If most people in the thread have different takeaways, and you're laser-focused on seeing eugenics and superiority (especially when you keep making condescending remarks like "hope this helps" or "work on your reading comprehension"), I don't think that reflects on the film

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#562

Post by MidnightRider39 »

pixl97 wrote: post #324
MidnightRider39 wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No idea. Why do we need to determine if humans are getting dumber or not?

What an odd question. What do you think intelligence actually is? What effects do you think it has when it goes up or down in mass?

I think it’s an essential question. I wouldn’t even know how to describe what intelligence means exactly. I’ve experienced very “smart” people make horribly stupid decisions and the other way round.

Since I don’t know a way to describe what intelligent actually means I can’t tell if it’s good or not to have more or less of it.

For some this seems to be a very “finished” topic, but we don’t have any widely accepted definitions of intelligence, not even for “less complex” organisms

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#563

Post by MidnightRider39 »

coldtea wrote: post #172
MidnightRider39 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imho IQ scores aren’t a sufficient measure of intelligence, it’s very shaky science at best

Not a sufficient measure of different kinds of mental agility (including emotional/social) maybe. But when it comes to intelligence needed for doing maths and physics and such, it's a very good proxy. And geniuses like Tao, also happen to scope very highly.

Yea and there have been tons of Nobel price winners who have scored low.

It’s a completely useless measure

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#564

Post by MidnightRider39 »

lelanthran wrote: post #369
MidnightRider39 wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No idea. Why do we need to determine if humans are getting dumber or not?

> No idea. Why do we need to determine if humans are getting dumber or not? It seems to me, then, that your primary objection is not that IQ scores are inaccurate, but that intelligence shouldn't be measured in the first place? Which makes me think that you don't want anyone doing research into whether human intelligence is changing at all.

No I think that our tools to measure and our definition of intelligence are lacking and are causing more problems than actually helping with anything.

Or can you point to any obvious improvements that result from having measured “intelligence” for the last 100+ years?

When my grandpa was a kid they would measure your skull and decide if you are smart or a subhuman based on that. Makes about as much sense as our current IQ tests…

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#565

Post by marxisttemp »

anonymars wrote: post #561
marxisttemp wrote: post #558

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The film wasn't about education, it was about genetics, as the intro makes abundantly clear. And the Redditors who get themselves hot and bothered about this film aren't laughing, they're congratulating themselves on being the intelligent ones instead of the dysgenic stupids while crowing about how "Idiocracy is a documentary" -> stupid people are overbreeding.

If most people in the thread have different takeaways, and you're laser-focused on seeing eugenics and superiority (especially when you keep making condescending remarks like "hope this helps" or "work on your reading comprehension"), I don't think that reflects on the film

Yeah, the consensus of a plurality of users of a Silicon Valley startup incubator heavily associated with the right wing is definitely the only opinion that matters about the subtext of a film.

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#566

Post by johnofthesea »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #261
Intermernet wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many US citizens didn't get that Starship Troopers was a black comedy. There are serious video reviews taking it seriously as an action movie where the characters are true US heroes. I have a feeling these people are the same as the ones you're talking about.

I agree. RoboCop also belongs to the not-obvious-to-some-satire club.

Or the Prince.

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#567

Post by anonymars »

marxisttemp wrote: post #565
anonymars wrote: post #561

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If most people in the thread have different takeaways, and you're laser-focused on seeing eugenics and superiority (especially when you keep making condescending remarks like "hope this helps" or "work on your reading comprehension"), I don't think that reflects on the film

Yeah, the consensus of a plurality of users of a Silicon Valley startup incubator heavily associated with the right wing is definitely the only opinion that matters about the subtext of a film.

"The people who disagree with my interpretation must be right-wing" says nothing about the film

Good luck in your quest of persuasion-by-bludgeon

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#568

Post by pbhjpbhj »

marxisttemp wrote: post #472
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's true though, isn't it? The response is what typifies Nazi and similar positions. It is curious that there's no reported disgenic effect though - that seems counter to evolutionary theory? Perhaps it's only limiting the rate of growth of IQ/intelligence. There's a classic sci-fi story in which we rely on computers, the population gets dumber to the point noone knows how to make/fix the computers. I think in that…

What sort of a response do you think a movie whose premise is “dumb people have overbred and made the world worse” is intended to provoke?

That education is a general good?

I'll have to watch it again, all I remember it as was a goofy movie. It didn't make me think "we have to kill all the stupid people".

Actually I'm inclined to think it's more like My Fair Lady and that much of what we call intelligence is down to opportunity and motivation.

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#569

Post by GrinningFool »

anonymars wrote: post #527
Froztnova wrote: post #523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. I can't imagine any sort of cultural influence that can make grown adults incapable of performing basic tasks that a child could do. https://youtu.be/jbmq9P-8FiM

...the most important part [of the movie] Similarly, buildings will probably not topple over and be tethered together with oversized packaging tape Meanwhile although there's no monster trucks on the White House lawn yet, get ready for UFC Freedom 250

> Meanwhile although there's no monster trucks on the White House lawn yet, Not /currently/... https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-musk/trump-musk-tesla-whit...

Re: Are We Idiocracy Yet?

#570

Post by tremon »

throwawy0353 wrote: post #257
Esophagus4 wrote: post #139

As I got older, I always wondered if everyone thought they were the smart one and everyone else must be the idiocracy. I seem to remember Homer Simpson thinking something to that effect (“Boy, everyone is stupid except me”). I can imagine that happening today, esp politically.

There are studies where 93% of drivers believe they are better than average drivers...

There's no inherent contradiction with a majority of drivers rating themselves above average: each driver is free to prioritize "good driver"-traits differently; e.g. if I value road safety and my neighbour values total travel time, we are probably both objectively better drivers according to our own metrics.

That said, 93% of car drivers are worse than me. Obviously.

Post reply on HN